Month: June 2018

Underneath our feet, deep down in the Earth, liquid iron is producing the magnetic field that we all take for granted. But every now and then that magnetic field reverses or flips its polarity. What was once magnetic north becomes south – and vice versa. When these reversals take place – and why they do

There have been a few new discoveries concerning the interstellar object Oumuamua so I thought I would write a brief update. Here are three new things that scientists have discovered: 1, It is tumbling through space The variations in brightness that were observed through the world’s telescopes have given scientists an idea of what the

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) are getting ready to make room for 20 new rodent roommates. On Friday morning, a SpaceX Dragon spaceship blasted off from Florida carrying the mice. The rodent crew is expected to arrive at the ISS on Monday. Their record-breaking journey – this is the longest mice will be off the planet –

Cats have some of the most unique eyes in the animal world: Instead of having circular pupils like humans, the black parts in the centres of their eyes are vertical – which can adapt quickly and can open and close like the aperture of a camera. Why are cat eyes so special? It all comes

Goats might not seem like the most cuddly animals, but researchers have found evidence that goats are as clever as dogs, and just as capable of building emotional relationships with humans as all the other domesticated animals we’ve let into our hearts and homes. The 2016 study showed that goats stare intensely at their owner when

Atop Mount Lico in northern Mozambique is a site that few have had the pleasure of seeing – a hidden rainforest, protected by a steep circle of rock. Though the mountain was known to locals, the forest itself remained a secret until six years ago, when Professor Julian Bayliss spotted it on satellite imagery. It

Database Center for Life Science(DBCLS) via Wikimedia Commons The highlighted region is Broca’s Area. June 28th was the 194th birthday of Paul Broca, the physician and anthropologist who discovered the area of the brain responsible for our ability to produce spoken language. His discovery marked the first clear link between a region of the brain

Credits: NASA / JPL / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics / David Aguilar Artist’s impression. Planets orbiting a Sun-like star. Once, this was an astronomical axiom, perhaps even a cosmic holy grail: Find lots of oxygen in the sky of an alien world, and life is likely somewhere below. But now, a new study in the

Using images from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite, Brazilian astronomer Denilso Camargo has found five new globular clusters in the bulge of our Milky Way galaxy. Credit: ESO/D. Minniti/VVV Team. On the right lies the globular star cluster UKS 1 and on the left lies a much less conspicuous new discovery, VVV CL001.

When I was at elementary school, my teacher told me that matter exists in three possible states: solid, liquid and gas. She neglected to mention plasma, a special kind of electrified gas that’s a state unto itself. We rarely encounter natural plasma, unless we’re lucky enough to see the Northern lights, or if we look

The internet has been giggling over the latest satellite map discovery, and we can’t blame them. A giant penis drawing has appeared on a dry lake bed in Victoria, Australia. Details on its provenance are scant, but those who think the dick-and-balls shape is the work of crafty photoshopping can easily check out the real

Deep in the woods of the West Pomerania region of Poland, an entire section of trees bends at sharp angles near their bases, forming an odd and entrancing phenomenon known as ‘The Crooked Forest’. Why do the trees bend like this? No one is quite sure. Some have theorised that harsh weather conditions made them this

The scrotum is a mystery. Why do most male mammals have their reproductive glands so vulnerably located in a sack of skin and muscle outside the body? According to new research, the answer might be found in those unusual mammals that have testicles located inside the abdomen. These includes elephants, aardvarks and others from a

If we’re going to head out into interstellar space one day, we might want to go equipped with some heavy-duty degreaser. New research has found that the vast intervals of space aren’t always filled with dry dust, but often contain a mist of greasy molecules. And there’s a lot of space grease out there. The

The broad legalisation of marijuana in California might be a big win for trade, tax, and lovers of a toke, but it could be a serious threat to one bushy-tailed little predator. Populations of Humboldt martens (Martes americana humboldtensis) have already been struck down thanks to years of shrinking habitat. But it’s taken the proliferation

Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Reuters) – A science fiction-inspired robot hardwired to assist astronauts will launch from Florida early Friday morning to become the first personal, artificial intelligence-powered companion in space. Bret Greenstein of IBM holds an artificial intelligence bot named CIMON, following a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S., June 28,

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Whether we’re sipping it to get going in the morning or pounding it to stay awake later at night, our favorite psychoative drug is, as always, in high demand. Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day according to recent estimates—over three cups each on average—delivering a jolt upwards of 300 mg

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is continuing to erupt, with lava gushing throughout a swath of Hawaii’s Big Island and pouring into the Pacific Ocean. The volcano – which has been slowly and continuously erupting for decades – entered a new, more violent eruption phase in May. Thousands of local residents were forced to evacuate following a

It turns out the unlucky Pompeiian man whose body was found under a giant piece of masonry last month wasn’t crushed to death after all. Archaeologists have finally located and excavated his skull – and it’s in perfect condition. Images of the man’s skeleton went viral at the end of May 2018. He had been

ZEISS Microscopy from Germany via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0 Fluorescence microscopy of stage 24 squid embryo with ZEISS Celldiscoverer 7 You are made of trillions of cells, perhaps somewhere in the ballpark of 30 trillion or so, all performing a variety of specialized functions. Your brain is processing these words, while your lungs breathe